SAC Consulting is calling on all livestock farmers in areas affected by wet summer weather to plan for the coming winter to ensure adequate feed levels.
Andrew Taylor, based at the SAC Consulting office in Ayr commented: "The poor weather over the past few months has caused many farmers to house stock earlier than anticipated. We are encouraging all farmers in this situation to do feed budgeting now. Leaving this until January only compounds the issue making the problem worse. If other farms are in the same boat it will also increase the cost of forage to be purchased. In the west, 2017 has had one of the wettest summers on record - the other two years with similar summers (1985 and 2012) both had late cold springs in the next year."
Many areas of the country have not made the levels and quality of forage required, especially with second-cut silages. They also face high costs for the winter such as straw which is already at a high price when delivered. The obvious consequence is a severe shortage of forage to overwinter stock, but equally important, is the impact this has had on performance of animals this summer.
With fields still "shut up" for conservation there has been no aftermaths for stock to graze this autumn. As a result, grass intake for perhaps the last two months has been severely restricted, all of which will have had a direct impact on performance, be it growth rates, fertility or the condition of cows and ewes.
In this situation, SAC Consulting is offering the following advice : Sell all lambs or calves as stores and to maximise their sale weights start creep feeding ASAP. Check the condition of cows and ewes now and if cows are lean wean ASAP, but ensure the calves have been on creep feed for at least 3 weeks before weaning.
Pregnancy diagnose all cows now and cull all barren animals ASAP before prices begin to fall with the autumn glut. With feed limited and expensive this winter only keep the fittest ewes - so be particularly hard when drawing them for the ram.
Farmers should also investigate opportunities for away wintering which will usually be cheaper than buying feed into remote areas. They should also remember that concentrates are cheaper per unit of energy/protein to transport than roughage.
Consideration should be given to strip grazing uncut silage ground rather than trying to make very poor quality silage in wet conditions, and use a back fence to minimise poaching.
Alternatively, if conditions allow, consider mowing 2 or 3 swaths for the next few days and placing an electric fence in the middle of each swath to act as a feed barrier.
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